Girls not allowed to take part in sumo event

Apr 13, 2018 | News On Japan

Apr 13, 2018 (NHK) - The Japan Sumo Association recently barred girls from taking part in a sumo event for children.

The event took place in Shizuoka City on Sunday. It is part of the sumo association's annual promotional tour. At the event, children enter the ring and receive training from professional wrestlers.

According to the organizing committee, girls began taking part in the event with boys about 3 years ago. Several girls were due to join in this year.

But the committee only allowed boys to enter the ring on Sunday, in accordance with the request made by the sumo association 4 days before the event.

A public relations official for the sumo association says the request was made because some girls were injured in previous events. The official says the association will also discourage girls from taking part in similar events during future promotional tours.

The association has traditionally prohibited women from entering the ring. The ban is now at the center of a debate in Japan, following an incident during a recent promotional tour.

The mayor of Maizuru City, located in Kyoto Prefecture, collapsed during a speech in the ring last week. A female nurse entered the ring to try to treat him. When 2 other women followed, and tried to assist, a referee told all the women through a microphone to leave the ring.

The mayor survived. The chairman of the sumo association apologized later that day and said the announcement was inappropriate, even if the referee was upset about the emergency.

Typhoons No. 28 and 29 Bring High Waves to Japan's Pacific Coast

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

Cyberattacks Spread Across Japan

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's First 360-Degree Projection Mapping Opens in Osaka

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

US Military Halts All Okinawa Operations for 48 Hours

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Most Sightings of Fugitive Yoichi Hatta Reported in Kanto

Police in Oita Prefecture have revealed that the Kanto region accounts for the largest number of reported sightings of Yoichi Hatta, a fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident in Beppu in 2022, with authorities preparing to distribute new wanted posters nationwide from November as the search enters its fifth year.